Importance of Partnerships and Human Rights in the Global, Regional and National Response to HIV and AIDS
St Maarten, Netherlands Antilles – In a keynote speech on Sunday 31 October, former UN Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan will argue that we need strong leadership, more innovative partnerships and a firm focus on human rights to win the battle against HIV/AIDS.
Speaking at the 10th anniversary meeting of the Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP) in St Maarten, Mr. Annan will:
- Stress that thirty years on from the start of the epidemic, the battle against HIV/AIDS has still to be won – five more people still contract the virus for every two who start treatment.
- Emphasize that the fight against HIV/AIDS must be seen as part of the wider battle to uphold human rights, with stigma and discrimination still deterring many people from seeking treatment or ensuring prevention.
- Call for innovative partnerships that include governments, NGOs and pharmaceutical companies to work together to defeat HIV/AIDS.
- Pay tribute to the leadership shown by the regional organization CARICOM in setting up PANCAP, “a model for others to follow”, to tackle HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean region.
Also speaking at the event will be Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS.
Mr. Annan will say: “Thirty years since the start of this terrible epidemic, too many people still get infected and too many die of AIDS-related illness. While we have seen real progress across the board, five more people still contract the virus for every two who start treatment. Despite the tremendous efforts of PANCAP, the Caribbean has not been spared. With the exception of Sub-Saharan Africa, this region faces the greatest HIV/AIDS challenge. An estimated 240,000 people live today with HIV in the Caribbean. Twenty thousand more are newly infected each year.”
“We have to view the fight against HIV/AIDS within the wider battle to uphold human rights. Sexual minorities, drug users, and people infected by HIV/AIDS suffer from daily discrimination and prejudices, discouraging them from seeking help and treatment. Women and girls are particularly at risk. Too many suffer sexual abuse or feel unable to insist on protected sex. They must be empowered to speak up and protect themselves and their children.”
“Winning this battle requires the support and commitment of all sectors of society. The HIV epidemic is not only a health issue. We need the meaningful involvement of community-based groups, NGOs and faith-based organizations. Employers and trade unions can play a key role by making the workplace an access point for HIV prevention, treatment and support. Researchers, doctors and pharmaceutical companies can help to develop drugs to treat the virus. With strong encouragement from outside, drug companies can make medicines more cheaply so that more people could afford them.”
PANCAP is a regional partnership which was established in February 2001 to respond to the HIV and AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean. Its vision is to substantially reduce the spread and impact of HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean through sustainable systems of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. By 2012, it aims to reduce: the estimated number of new infections by 25%; HIV mortality by 25%; and the social and economic impact of HIV and AIDS on households by 25%.
Notes to Editors
- Kofi Annan served two terms, from 1997 to 2006, as UN Secretary-General. In 2001, Annan and the United Nations were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. Since leaving the United Nations, Kofi Annan has established a Foundation through which he continues to provide leadership on critical global issues, particularly preserving and building peace and facilitating more equitable sharing of the benefits of globalization, by promoting poverty alleviation, good governance, human rights and the rule of law. Please visit: www.kofiannanfoundation.org
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